Tomorrow, on July 4, 2019, Great Leader Donald J. Trump will personally harangue adoring red-hatted throngs from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The National Park Service has diverted at least $2.5 million meant to fund park repairs and maintenance to partially-cover expenses for these last-minute White House directives. Free tickets to this political but publicly-financed event have been gifted to GOP donors , Trump 2020 campaign staff, and Republican officials. The Commander-in-Chief has bidden the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the U.S. Army Band, the Armed Forces Chorus, and the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon to entertain him, and demanded that US military chiefs stand next to him. And there will be tanks. A flyover by military jets and Air Force One will ground flights at Reagan National Airport for over an hour. Also grounded: the diaper-clad Trump Baby Balloon.
More:
“Trump plans ticketed-access area for VIPs, friends and family at July 4 celebration,” Peter Hermann, Michael E. Ruane and Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post
“RNC Receives VIP Tickets to Trump’s Fourth of July Celebration; DNC Does Not,” Maggie More, NBC4 Washington
“Trump Is Packing the July 4 Fireworks Because He’s Afraid of Getting Booed,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
“How Trump’s 4th of July Hijacking Could Violate the Hatch Act,” Walter Shaub, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
“Proud Boys and Allies to Rally in D.C. to Capitalize on ‘Trumpstravaganza,’” Will Sommer, Daily Beast
“This Fourth of July, Trump will star in a movie of his own making,” Lloyd Green, The Guardian
“Trump’s July 4 Event Shaping Up To Be A Salute To Himself,” Josh Kovensky, TPM Muckraker
“‘They started this too late’: Trump officials and allies anxious about July 4 fest,” Nancy Cook, Politico
“Pentagon tells troops to say ‘I am proud of my job and my vehicle/tank’ during Trump July 4 event: report,” Marina Pitofsky, The Hill
“Trump says his generals are ‘thrilled’ with his Fourth of July salute. Their silence suggests otherwise.” Greg Jaffee, Washington Post
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Image (“4th of July: Cult of Personality”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.
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